4 June 2025
Letter to the editor, Canberra Times, from Sue Dyer: 'It is clear that in the near future the Labor government will have the opportunity to appoint to the AWM Council several new members who have the guts, expertise, and ambition to help haul this public institution into the 21st century'.
Today's Canberra Times has an op ed from Defending Country President, Professor Peter Stanley, and website editor, Dr David Stephens. The op ed is in the online edition of the paper (pdf attached from our subscription) and on page 16 of the hard copy.
Summary
The upcoming expiry of the terms of four members of the Australian War Memorial Council allows the responsible Minister, Matt Keogh, to repeat last year's successful call for public Expressions of Interest to fill the vacancies.
Each of the four members are long-serving - between six and ten years - and that alone is sufficient grounds for their replacement. The article contains further background.
Divisions on the existing Council may be part of the reason why, after a promising start, the Memorial seems to have lost its way on commemorating the Australian (Frontier) Wars.
The current Council is short of historians, young people, women, and people with corporate governance experience.
The op ed concludes:
Finally, if the outcome of the Voice referendum has inhibited proper commemoration of the Australian Wars at the memorial, we offer the Defending Country theme. "Defending Country" applies to all who have fought for Australia or parts of it, just as much to First Australians (Arrernte, Noongar, Wiradjuri and others), defending their Country on Country (and often dying on Country), as to uniformed Australians fighting our overseas wars. An emphasis on Defending Country does not divide Australians, but treats them equally, black and white, those not in uniform and those in uniform. Defending Country is a theme that should appeal to a bold, ambitious government.
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